Wednesday, February 15, 2012

American Society of Cinematographer Awards

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY OF 2011:

The Tree of Life- Emmanuel Lubezki

While I may not have been the biggest fan of the muddy origin story helmed by Terrence Malick, I am fully behind any and all awards bestowed to masterful d.p.\poet Lubezki. His work in The Tree of Life is fluid and artful, full of daring and plenty of, "How in the hell did you get that shot" moments. His work with Malick is already impressive-- he also lensed his 2005's film The New World, and received an Oscar nomination-- and is the preferred choice for brave auteurs like Malick and Alfonso Cuaron. He has four prior Oscar nominations to his credit, including the brilliantly shot Children of Men, and no wins thus far. This needs to change this year. If The Tree of Life is nothing but a long stream of delicately precise screen savor shots, it's still the best shot void of the year.